exit seraphim
by Renaly
Summary: Friend, lover, enemy: Terra has been all three, and they overlapped more than was probably healthy.


Sometimes she doesn't remember her name.

Sometimes she does, and that's worse.

* * *

It's just one afternoon. She can be Terra for one afternoon.

Less than that, actually. Only about an hour; she's not staying for the whole thing. She's not really staying for any of it. She plans to be gone before it even begins.

That's all hinging on the assumption that she can even avoid being seen. When over half your guest list is superheroes, you don't have to shell out extra for security.

Ducking around a corner to avoid the members of the Doom Patrol, she picks up a bouquet of flowers to hold in front of her face. In this way she makes her way up the stairs of the hotel, letting people assume she is some kind of delivery girl.

At the top of the stairs is a long hallway with several doors. She spends a few moments debating whether or not to check them all, when a tall red-haired figure walks out of a room at the end of the hall.

She half-throws herself into the nearest empty room, her blood pounding in her ears, and finds to her relief that the room is empty. Leaning close to the door, she listens as the other woman's footsteps trail off down the stairs.

Cautiously, she steps back out into the hallway and eyes the door that Starfire (no, she goes by Kory now) had walked out of. She approaches the door, reaches for the handle, then pulls her hand back. Starts to back away, until—

"Come in."

Damn. She'd forgotten that Raven is psychic. Of course, forgetting had been a big part of her problem.

Taking a deep breath, she opens the door.

Raven stands at a mirror, a long white dress falling to her ankles. It's a pretty dress. Simple. It's not black, so there's that.

Raven turns to face her. "Why are you here?" It's not accusatory, or even rude.

She swallows. "I. Uh. Wanted to say. Congratulations?"

Raising an eyebrow, Raven looks unimpressed by her inability to lie better.

"I just—I mean, I know you probably don't want me here, and I'm not going to stay. And I won't talk to—him at all, I promise."

"You left," Raven reminds her.

"I know—"

"You moved on. He moved on."

"Yeah, clearly," she says, and winces. That had come out more bitter than she'd been aiming for. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you—"

"You didn't." Raven turns back to the mirror, touching one of her sleeves. "I know you came here with good intentions. If you wanted to ruin this, you wouldn't have come to see me."

She'd prepared for a lot of things—screaming, flying objects, red eyes. This is new. "You're… being pretty open-minded about this."

"We all have our ghosts," Raven says quietly. "If this is what you need to do to settle yours, who am I to judge?"

There's been a headache threatening her all morning, and now it is pounding strongly at her temples. She's spent these last few years thinking she's grown past most of this stuff, but Raven is right—some ghosts don't go away that easily. "It wasn't right for me," she says finally, "being with you guys. It never was. I have a life now, a good one. And I wouldn't trade it for anything."

Raven nods. "So do I."

"I'm glad," she says, and it's the truth. "He deserves someone like you. That's a compliment, I promise," she adds.

Then, wonder of wonders, a smile appears on Raven's face. Huh. Apparently getting married can put anyone in a good mood.

"Thank you," Raven tells her. "You can talk to him if you want, I won't stop you."

Her stomach flips. "I'm not… sure I can," she says slowly.

"Alright," Raven says. "I'll hide your presence. You can leave in peace."

The sigh of relief whooshes out of her. "Thank you."

Raven looks over her shoulder. "Kory's coming back," she says, then closes her eyes, a look of concentration coming over her pale face.

She doesn't move when Kory enters the room, but Kory brushes right past her without even noticing her. She turns to leave, but not before shooting a look of gratitude at Raven.

It's at that odd angle, over her shoulder and a reflection in a mirror, that she sees it: Raven's hand flutters over her dress and lingers almost distractedly on her flat abdomen. Raven doesn't seem to be aware of the action, is not even looking at her, too busy paying attention to whatever Kory is saying.

She moves quickly down the stairs, through the lobby, and out of the building.

She takes a deep breath. And puts Terra away.

* * *

 **A/N:** This is actually the fourth in a planned series. I will... get around to writing and uploading the others soon. I promise.

Also uploaded on AO3: works/8577073

Title comes from here: allpoetry . com (/)Mad-Girl's-Love-Song


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